Sachin Tendulkar Adjudged As The Greatest Test Batsman Of The 21st Century By The Star Sports' Jury

Star Sports’ jury had taken one of the challenging tasks, which was to name the greatest Test batsman of the 21st century. A recognized 50-member jury had been summoned, consisting of Sunil Gavaskar, Ian Bishop, Harbhajan Singh, Shane Watson, Scott Styris, Gautam Gambhir among others, alongside sports journalists and coaches were present too. Sunil Gavaskar picked his fellow countryman Sachin Tendulkar as the best Test batsman for the period in question.

Star Sports had nominated four of the best candidates for the best Test batsman in the men’s category. The names were Jacques Kallis, Steve Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, and Sachin Tendulkar. The renowned sports broadcaster in India had also given the fans to be part of the jury, as fan polls took place between the 15th and 17th of June. Sachin Tendulkar garnered the highest amount of votes with 70.3 %.

While Steve Smith got the next highest votes, there was a big gulf between him and Tendulkar as he achieved 15.3%. Sachin Tendulkar has three major records in Test cricket after debuting back in 1989. The 48-year old has 15921 in 200 Tests at 53.79, with 51 centuries, and a best score of 248. Tendulkar is the highest run-getter in Tests, the highest century-maker and has the most number of appearances in the format.

Both Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar are icons of the game: Sunil Gavaskar

“This was a really tough one. Both Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar are icons of the game. But the vote, the winner for the greatest Test batsman of the 21st century is my fellow Mumbaikar, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar,” Gavaskar said in a video posted by Star Sports’ Twitter handle.

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